I take this to mean that a child's parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents have a great effect on the child's educational attainments, which I think is very true, and is a significant factor in the very intractable "achievement gap."
Friday, February 29, 2008
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., US Supreme Court Justice
A child's education should begin at least one hundred years before he is born. -Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., US Supreme Court Justice (1841-1935)
I take this to mean that a child's parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents have a great effect on the child's educational attainments, which I think is very true, and is a significant factor in the very intractable "achievement gap."
I take this to mean that a child's parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents have a great effect on the child's educational attainments, which I think is very true, and is a significant factor in the very intractable "achievement gap."
Monday, February 18, 2008
John F. Kennedy
"Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings." -- John F. Kennedy
This sounds very noble, but I am afraid he was wrong here. Our problems are man-made, but not made by man alone, and so cannot be solved by man alone. The most intractable of human problems have a spiritual dimension and must be attacked with spiritual power, that is, the power supplied by the Holy Spirit. The basic human problem is the sin problem, which has been addressed by the redemptive life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The power that flows from that is essential for solving the problems of human destiny.
This sounds very noble, but I am afraid he was wrong here. Our problems are man-made, but not made by man alone, and so cannot be solved by man alone. The most intractable of human problems have a spiritual dimension and must be attacked with spiritual power, that is, the power supplied by the Holy Spirit. The basic human problem is the sin problem, which has been addressed by the redemptive life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The power that flows from that is essential for solving the problems of human destiny.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, author
If you wish to be loved, show more of your faults than your virtues. -Edward Bulwer-Lytton, author (1803-1873)
As a generalization, this is not true. Faults do not make one lovable and virtues do. A vile temper, for example, does not readily draw love from others, while magnanimity does. So what is Bulwer-Lytton thinking of here? I think he has in mind modesty, in the sense of unassuming behavior. If you want to be loved, don't talk about your own virtues, but rather be more forthcoming about your faults. Following Jesus' teaching in Mt 6:1-6 would keep you on the right path.
As a generalization, this is not true. Faults do not make one lovable and virtues do. A vile temper, for example, does not readily draw love from others, while magnanimity does. So what is Bulwer-Lytton thinking of here? I think he has in mind modesty, in the sense of unassuming behavior. If you want to be loved, don't talk about your own virtues, but rather be more forthcoming about your faults. Following Jesus' teaching in Mt 6:1-6 would keep you on the right path.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Gerry Spence, lawyer; St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Doctor of the Church,
To freely bloom - that is my definition of success. -Gerry Spence, lawyer (b. 1929)
St. Irenaeus of Lyons , an early Father and Doctor of the Church, put it this way: Man fully alive is the glory of God.
St. Irenaeus of Lyons , an early Father and Doctor of the Church, put it this way: Man fully alive is the glory of God.
Friday, February 08, 2008
Gabriel Laub, author
Crown: A headgear that makes the head superfluous. -Gabriel Laub, author (1928-1998)
I find this kind of epigram annoying. It is such a sweeping condemnation of the institution of the monarchy that one who already agreed with the sentiment would accept it unthinkingly but no one else would, yet it isn't witty enough to be enjoyed simply as an epigram.
I find this kind of epigram annoying. It is such a sweeping condemnation of the institution of the monarchy that one who already agreed with the sentiment would accept it unthinkingly but no one else would, yet it isn't witty enough to be enjoyed simply as an epigram.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Jonathan Swift, satirist
If a man would register all his opinions upon love, politics, religion, learning, etc., beginning from his youth and so go on to old age, what a bundle of inconsistencies and contradictions would appear at last! -Jonathan Swift, satirist (1667-1745)
One would certainly hope so! The alternative would be a strange old man I think.
One would certainly hope so! The alternative would be a strange old man I think.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
H.L. Mencken, writer, editor, and critic
Page Fifty-Two
The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed – and hence clamorous to be led to safety -- by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary. -H.L. Mencken, writer, editor, and critic (1880-1956)
I disagree with this in that it is too sweeping a generalization, but I think that its thrust is worth bearing in mind, especially in a time like this election year. Candidates have to differentiate themselves from the competition, and the temptation is strong to emphasize certain issues extravagantly, perhaps turning them into imaginary hobgoblins.
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